The Present Disclosure relates generally to optical fiber assemblies and, more particularly, to an optical fiber cable assembly for use within a wide temperature range and having thermal expansion compensation functionality.
It is often desirable to use optical fiber systems for signal transmission in high bandwidth applications. However, the use of optical fibers may create challenges in environments having significant ranges of operating temperatures. Automotive applications that operate within the engine compartment are subjected to relatively high and low temperatures. While some optical fiber systems may be operational within the required temperature range, such systems are often too expensive for high volume automotive applications. Lower cost systems, such as those that utilize plastic optical fiber, typically are not able to operate effectively within the required operational temperature range. In addition, plastic optical fiber systems may not have sufficient bandwidth for some applications. Accordingly, a relatively low cost, high bandwidth optical fiber system that is operational within a wide range of temperatures is desirable.